Sony Ericsson gains on Nokia

No. 5 handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications said Monday that it grabbed more share of the worldwide market by shipping a record 8.8 million phones during its first quarter.

Sony Ericsson said its recent successes are due to "strong" sales of middle- and upper-tier cell phones--a sector of the market traditionally dominated by the world's No. 1 cell phone maker, Nokia.

But a Sony Ericsson representative still ranked the company fifth in the world in terms of overall shipments, behind Siemens AG, Samsung, Motorola and Nokia.

Sony Ericsson is the second major handset maker in a week to report gaining market share. Samsung Electronics believes its cell phone division has been gaining directly from Nokia. Samsung's net profit nearly tripled during its recently completed first quarter.

Nokia Chief Executive Jorma Ollila has dismissed any concerns that the Finnish industrial giant's longtime No. 1 status is in any danger. Indeed, Nokia still sells more than a third of the world's cell phones.

But during a conference call last week, he said competitors are taking short-term advantage of "holes" in Nokia's lineup of middle-tier cell phones.

"There is a major midtier market and, since we have those holes, our customers can't move from low end to midtier," he said.